Hey I have this viola, but everytime I get it tuned...... it gets right untuned! Does anyone have any tips? I played viola for like 4 years when I was younger, but stopped. Now, I bought one and want to play again cause I missed it. So if anyone has a website i can go to that can help me.. and refresh me, I`d greatly appreciate it. Oh yeah and viola`s are cooler that violins. We are non-conformist!

Well Have you talked to a person who plays viola and knows how to tune??? Check out your local college. There might be a music professeor there that can help u! But before u go call to make sure that they aren`t in the middle of a class. Then is you get the ok from them personally bring your viola along too. if u still have trouble tuning maybe theres something wrong with your instrument. Consider the following. Where did you buy the instrument. And was it cheaply made??

I love playing the viola, but there are so few! at my high school, there were only 6 violas in the whole orchestra! it`s so unknown. i once told a person that i played the viola, and they asked me "oh really, what`s that?". i still don`t think that he believed that it was even and instrument! It was invented before the violin, and yet the violin is more known.

oopsi, i meant that there ARE only 6 violas. i`m still in high school. okay, start with the stupid jokes. i don`t mind.

Hey yous guys, I made a comment a while back and I thought that I should do it once more since it is the only way to go. As you may have noticed I am sarcastic Anyways I`m still a violist and I haven`t gotten bored with it. I doubt I ever will.Being a violist has sunken too deep into my ego that everything I say has some reference to it. But I won`t go into detail....it would take eternity. So the purpose of my being here is to tell all of you to keep on playing. PLAY!!! don`t ever feel intimidated by the violins that play all the right rhythms and stuff. We are the epitome of being unique. Look at us. How many can say that they play the viola? Huh? Few. We are the shiznit. We rock!!!

Hey. My name is Dani and I`ve been playin the viola for 5 years now.. i just pretty much took orchastra in school. but now i am home schooled.. and anyways i was looking for sites that have contemperary christian sheet music.. i`ve been looking forever and i can`t seem to find exactly what i`m looking for. Any kind of help would be GREATLY appreciated. thanx!
ROCK ON VIOLAS!!!!

ahhh there used to be only 2 violas in my whole symphony orchestra!! everyone thought we were useless, but actually the violas seemed to get a couple of surprisingly important parts that year, i cringed a LOT when suddenly the whole orchestra turned veeeeeery quiet and just us violas played in rachmaninov piano concerto no.2 and scheherezade by rimsky-korsakov, i wasn`t expecting that! i`m only little though and i find the viola very heavy to hold up for 90 min rehearsals, my neck and shoulders get very tense and stiff. the viola is beautifully mellow though, all the shiny blowy things and pretentious other string-players could learn something from us!

hail to all fellow violists, havin a nice time readin thru all ur posts and realising if you read the words violin and viola over and over your eyes go funny i dunno if ne1 else has picked up on this but viola players actually get paid more professionally, because there`s less of us woo! also wonderin why soooo many violinists have been on this message board...trying to steal the glory?! :O big up the viola massive, lol! lots of love jessibelle xxx
ps. anyone with copies of eine kleine nachtmusik mvmts 2,3&4 please email me(and if you have violin 1&2 parts wld b even better!)

I like violas. The aren`t scratrchy like violins tend to be when people first start. Granted, the violin has been made more practical, the viola is increasing rapidly in popularity . I like playing in my school in the orchestra, because my stand partner and I are so far ahead of the others, but then again, the others have`nt been playing quite as long as we have. But it is good to know that the violas get recognition in the orchestra, even if it`s not very much. I can`t stand it when people ask me if my instrument is a violin. It`s a little too big to be one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways, I just wanted to assert the fact that violas have a way better sound quality than violins, not trying to crack on my violin buddies at all though. I just have the opinion that the viola has a richer sound quality.

Responding to Steph...O yeah! I hate the jokes too! I pick up a violin, and I know off the bat it is a heck of a lot easier. Plus, you get that fabulous rich tone...*sigh*

Actually the viola was only recently developed to fit its strign size. People today are still perfecting the instrument, so less composers wrote for it when it was strangely long and wide, but made for under the chin.

Hopefully in a couple centuries the viola will be as popular as a violin, but you really have to dare to dream that.

HI!!!!!!!!! I play the viola and the violin! and i have to say i like playing the viola a lot more, i feel more appreciated and it`s awesome!!!! I am also learning how to play the drums, piano, cello, clarinet and kinda the french horn!!!! i LOVE MUSIC! we should deffinately have MORE VIOLA PLAYERS!!!!!!!!!

Keep playing any and everything you can! I myself can pick out songs on any stringed instrument. Once, I took a rubber band, and after two hours, I could play stuff on it! That`s how much I mess around with my instruments. Of course I get fussed at by more than one person for for playing too much *cough cello people especially cough*, but violas rule! Become one with the viola movement! Lol, okay, bye!

Hey, Yestarday I Just made a promise to my mom. I played the viola because when I heard it alone I liked the sound better than the violin.. I still do. and I promised my mom that I would play alone on my viola.. I think that all us violist need to practice more than you ever did.. practice and put caluses on ur fingers. practice so ur ears remember the sound. practice so u dont need to look at the music.. US VIOLISTS NEED TO RISE AND WORK TOWARD THE GOAL THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE FAMOUS VIOLISTS PLAYING SOLOS.. I mean look at Yo Yo Ma on the CELLO.. or Paganini on the violin.. WHO PLAYED THE VIOLA??? [/B] viola players need to try to become better than violins.. play louder than their E string.... play over their harmony parts.. play like the croud recognizes the viola more than the violin... PLAY FOR YOURSELF!!! go violas.. if you choose viola i think you are different in a very good way.. cause I CHOOSE THE VIOLA TOOOO.

-MICHAEL

Hi all my name is thomas and I`m from toronto, Canada. I`ve played the viola for 5 years and I love the instrument!! Viola is a great instrument- not any less than the violin. I started playing the viola without any experience on the violin and trust me, playing the viola is not easy- especially when you try to do arm vibrato on it. Anyhow, keep up playing everyone!! We violist will one day be recongized and rewarded. The 21st century is for us!!!

An amazing thing happened at my civic orchestra rehersal a few weeks back. Shortly into the rehersal I looked around the viola section and was aghast to see myself sitting with 9 other violists(never have I seen so many violists in a non-professional orchestra). Both violin, cello and bass sections had 8 people. Needless to say, we completly dominated the orchestra as we were the largest section. Thankfully the conductor loved the viola sound and let us really play out when our parts called for it.